Hydraulic fluid hose handling means for a side shiftable backhoe

ABSTRACT

A side shiftable backhoe has an operator&#39;&#39;s station fixed centrally to a main transverse frame at a location under the protective canopy of the backhoe carrying tractor. A backhoe boom support is pivotally connected by means of a vertical pivot structure to a shift block that is mounted for transverse shifting movement on the main transverse frame. A first hydraulic fluid manifold is supported on the shift block by means permitting the manifold to swivel about a generally vertical axis and a second hydraulic fluid manifold is fixed to the backhoe boom support. A first set of fluid hoses interconnects a valve block at the operator&#39;&#39;s station with the first manifold and the hoses are of sufficient length the shift block to shift to the ends of the main frame and a spring means is connected between the hoses to withdraw excess portions thereof to a cavity in the main frame. A second set of hoses is interconnected between the first and second manifolds and the hoses undergo bending when the backhoe boom structure is swung from side to side about the pivot structure, the bending causing the first manifold to pivot on its mounting axis to maintain the bend in the hoses at a minimum.

United States Patent [72] Inventor Roger Dale Van Der Zyl Durango, Iowa [21] Appl. No. 26,974 [22] Filed Apr. 9, 1970 [45] Patented Dec. 14, 1971 73] Assignee Deere & Company Moline, 1111.

[ 54] HYDRAULIC FLUID HOSE HANDLING MEANS FOR A SIDE SHIFTABLE BACKHOE 6 Claims, 3 Drawing Figs.

[52] 11.8. C1 214/138, 280/421, 280/456, 137/3551? [51] lint. Cl B66f 9/00, E02f 3/00 [50] Field of Search 2 l4/DIG. 11,138,138 B, 138 C; 280/421, 422, 456 R; 285/137 R; l37/355.17, 355.18; 60/52 US I 56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3.239, I 68 3/1966 Wiemann et al 280/456 X 3.400.842 9/1968 Owenn 214/138 C 3,263,839 8/1966 Hauff Primary Examiner-Albert J. Makay Assistant E.taminer.lerold M. Forsbcrg Anomeys-l-1. Vincent Harsha, Harold M. Knoth, William A.

Murray and John M. Nolan ABSTRACT: A side shiftable backhoe has an operator's station fixed centrally to a main transverse frame at a location under the protective canopy of the backhoe carrying tractor. A backhoe boom support is pivotally connected by means of a vertical pivot structure to a shift block that is mounted for transverse shifting movement on the main transverse frame. A first hydraulic fluid manifold is supported on the shift block by means permitting the manifold to swivel about a generally vertical axis and a second hydraulic fluid manifold is fixed to the backhoe boom support. A first set of fluid hoses interconnects a valve block at the operator's station with the first manifold and the hoses are of sufficient length the shift block to shift to the ends of the main frame and a spring means is connected between the hoses to withdraw excess portions thereof to a cavity in the main frame. A second set of hoses is interconnected between the first and second manifolds and the hoses undergo bending when the backhoe b oom structure is swung from side to side about the pivot structure, the bending causing the first manifold to pivot on its mounting axis to maintain iebend inthe hoses at a minimum.

Paitented Dem. H, mm mms 2 Sheets-Sheet l I N VEN'IOR. ROGER DALE VANDERZYL Patented Dec. 14, 1971 2 Sheets-Sheet INVENTOR. ROGER DALE VANDERZYL HYDRAULIC FLUID HOSE HANDLING MEANS FOR A SIDE SIIIF'IABLE BACKI-IOE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to backhoes and more particularly relates to side shiftable backhoes which have centrally fixed operator's stations and to means for handling the fluid hoses used for supplying fluid to the hydraulic actuators of the backhoes.

Side-shiftable backhoes are known in the art, however, most have operator's stations which are connected to and shift with the shift blocks. With such shifting operator's stations, conventional tractor canopies cannot be used to protect the operators since the canopies would interfere with the shifting movement. It is impractical to provide special wide canopies for backhoe operation and it is therefore desirable to have backhoe operator's stations which are fixed and centered under the protective canopies of the tractors.

Although centered operator's stations for side-shiftable backhoes are known in the art, they fail to provide simple and economical means for handling the fluid hoses for supplying fluid from a source of fluid on the tractor to the hydraulic actuators on the backhoe, in a manner suitable for minimizing hose wear.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to thepresent invention, there is provided a sideshiftable backhoe having a fixed centered operator's station permitting the operator to work under the protective canopy of a tractor and provided are means for handling the fluid supply hoses to prevent undue wear of the hoses during shifting and pivoting movement of the backhoe.

More specifically, it is an object of the invention to provide a pair of fluid manifolds, one on the shift block and the other on the backhoe boom support and to interconnect the manifolds by one set of fluid hoses and to interconnect the manifold carried by the shift block to the valve box located at the operator's station by a second set of hoses.

Another object is to pivotally mount one of the manifolds to pivot about an axis generally parallel to the vertical pivot between the backhoe and shift block.

A further object is to provide a spring to retract the excess portions of the second set of hoses into the backhoe main support frame to keep the hoses from interfering with the shifting operation.

These and other objects will become apparent from the en suing description and appended drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. I is a perspective view of a tractor-mounted sideshiftable backhoe embodying the invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the structure supporting the backhoe at the rear of the tractor and of the hose-handling means.

FIG. 3 is a top view of the manifolds interconnected by a representative hose and shown in solid lines in a fore-and-aft aligned position and in dashed lines in a pivoted position and showing the hose in broken lines in the position it would occupy if the one manifold was not pivotally mounted.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to FIG. I, there is shown a conventional tractor including rear supporting drive wheels 12 and front supporting ground wheels 14, only one of which is shown. A front end loader 16 is supported from posts I8 located at opposite sides of the tractor III in a manner well known in the art. A canopy 20 includes a pair of roll bars 22 at opposite sides of the tractor 110 connected between the support posts 18 of the loader l6 and the rear axles (not shown) of the tractor Ill and a roof 24 that extends over and is connected to the tops of the roll bars 22. The canopy 20 generally encloses an operator's station 26 of the tractor 10 to provide rollover protection for the operator seated in a seat 28 at the operators station 26.

A supporting structure for a backhoe 29 is mounted at the rear of the tractor 10 and includes a main transverse frame 30 connected to the tractor by draft links 32. A side shiftable subframe or shift block 34 is mounted for shifting movement along a transverse guide rail 36 at the top and a transverse groove 38 at the bottom of the transverse frame 30. A combined swing cylinder and vertical pivot assembly 40 connects a backhoe boom support 42 to the shift block 34. A boom 44 is pivotally connected at one end to the support 42 and at the other end to a dipper stick 46. The dipper stick 46 is in turn pivotally connected to a bucket 48. Hydraulic cylinders 50 and 52 and a hydraulic cylinder not shown adjust the bucket 48, dipper stick 46, boom 44 and support 42 vertically relative to each other.

A backhoe operator station 54 is fixed to the main frame 30 and is centered under the protective canopy 20 of the tractor I0. The station 54 includes a control console 56 which houses a valve block 58 and a plurality of control levers 60 are linked in a manner well known in the art to valve members in the valve block 56. A seat 62 is connected to the console 56 and extends well within the confines of the protective canopy 20.

The valve block 58 is connected in a known manner to a source of fluid pressure and a reservoir on the tractor. A plurality of fluid conduit means extend between the valve block 56 and the various hydraulic functions of the backhoe and includes a first set of hoses 64 that extends between the valve block 58 and a first hydraulic fluid manifold 66 and a second set of hoses 68 that extend between the first hydraulic fluid manifold 66 and a second hydraulic fluid manifold 70. The first manifold 66 is swivelly mounted on a vertical pin 72 car ried in a horizontal portion of a bracket 74 that is fastened to the shift block 34. The second manifold 70 is rigidly fixed to a bracket 76 that is fastened to the boom support 42. The manifolds are in general fore-and-aft alignment with each other on opposite sides of the combined swing cylinder and vertical pivot assembly 40 when the boom support is in foreand-aft alignment with respect to the shift block 34 as illus trated in FIGS. I and 2.

It should be noted that for clarity only three hoses are illustrated in each of the first and second sets of hoses 64 and 68, however, the hydraulic functions are double-acting and each require two hoses.

The first set of hoses 64 is of sufficient length to permit the shift block 34 to move to the lateral extremes of the main transverse frame 30 and a spring means, illustrated as a ring 78 encircling the hoses 64 and a tension spring 80 connected between the ring 78 and the frame 30, withdraws any excess hose into a cavity in the center of the frame 30 to permit unobstructed shifting of the shift block 34.

In FIG. 3, the manifolds 66 and 70 are shown in solid lines in their fore-and-aft aligned position and are shown in dashed lines in the positions they occupy when the boom support is swung to the right, as viewed from the operator's station 54, from the centered position illustrated in FIGS. I and 21. As can be seen from the dashed lines, the hoses 68, only one being shown, cause the manifold 66 to swivel counterclockwise as the boom support 42 is swung to the right. It is to be understood that the manifold 66 would be swiveled clockwise if the boom were swung to the left. Thus, the hoses 68 are allowed to seek a gentle bend or curvature. In contrast, the hoses 68 would be more sharply bent to the position shown in broken lines if the manifold 66 were fixed to the bracket 74. Thus, it can be appreciated that the swivel mounting of the manifold 66 lessens the flexure and increases the life of the hoses 66.

The above description is thought adequate to serve as an explanation of the operation of the present invention. In summary, suffice it to say, that the two'manifold arrangement makes it possible to provide adequate rollover protection for the operator of the backhoe while maintaining efficient and versatile operation of the backhoe.

I claim:

1. In a side-shiftable backhoe having an elongated main frame adapted for transverse connection to a tractor, a backhoe control console including a valve block fixedly attached to the main frame, a shift block laterally shiftably mounted on said main frame, a boom pivotally connected to said shift block for articulation about an upright axis, the improvement comprising: a first hydraulic fluid manifold carried by said shift block, fluid conduit means interconnecting said valve block and said first manifold, a second hydraulic fluid manifold supported by said boom, a plurality of hydraulic hoses extending from one manifold to the other and at least one of said manifolds being supported for pivotal movement about a generally upright axis.

2. The invention defined in claim 1 wherein said first manifold is the manifold supported for pivotal movement about said generally upright axis.

3. A backhoe comprising: a tractor having an operators station and a protective canopy extending over the station, a transverse main frame connected to the rear of the tractor, a backhoe operator's station fixed under said canopy, a valve block located at said station, a shift block mounted for laterally shifting movement along said main frame to either side of said operator's station, a boom support connected to said shift block for pivotal movement about an upright axis, a first hydraulic fluid manifold supported on said shift block, a first set of fiuid hoses connecting the valve block and first manifold, a second hydraulic fluid manifold supported on said boom, a second set of hydraulic fiuid hoses interconnecting the manifolds and at least one of the manifolds being supported for pivotal movement about an upright axis.

4. The invention defined in claim 3 wherein the main frame has a central cavity and means for withdrawing any excess length of said first set of hoses into said cavity is provided in said cavity.

5. The invention defined in claim 4 wherein the means for withdrawing includes a ring encircling said first set of hoses and a tension spring fixed between the ring and said main frame.

6. The invention defined in claim 3 wherein said first manifold is the manifold supported for pivotal movement about said generally upright axis.

i t i i l 

1. In a side-shiftable backhoe having an elongated main frame adapted for transverse connection to a tractor, a backhoe control console including a valve block fixedly attached to the main frame, a shift block laterally shiftably mounted on said main frame, a boom pivotally connected to said shift block for articulation about an upright axis, the improvement comprising: a first hydraulic fluid manifold carried by said shift block, fluid conduit means interconnecting said valve block and said first manifold, a second hydraulic fluid manifold supported by said boom, a plurality of hydraulic hoses extending from one manifold to the other and at least one of said manifolds being supported for pivotal movement about a generally upright axis.
 2. The invention defined in claim 1 wherein said first manifold is the manifold supported for pivotal movement about said generally upright axis.
 3. A backhoe comprising: a tractor having an operator''s station and a protective canopy extending over the station, a transverse main frame connected to the rear of the tractor, a backhoe operator''s station fixed under said canopy, a valve block located at said station, a shift block mounted for laterally shifting movement along said main frame to either side of said operator''s station, a boom support connected to said shift block for pivotal movement about an upright axis, a first hydraulic fluid manifold supported on said shift block, a first set of fluid hoses connecting the valve block and first manifold, a second hydraulic fluid manifold supported on said boom, a second set of hydraulic fluid hoses interconnecting the manifolds and at least one of the manifolds being supported for pivotal movement about an upright axis.
 4. The invention defined in claim 3 wherein the main frame has a central cavity and means for withdrawing any excess length of said first set of hoses into said cavity is provided in said cavity.
 5. The invention defined in claim 4 wherein the means for withdrawing includes a ring encircling said first set of hoses and a tension spring fixed between the ring and said main frame.
 6. The invention defined in claim 3 wherein said first manifold is the manifold supported for pivotal movement about said generally upright axis. 